Key-lock



E. 0. BENNETT- KEY LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED APII. I7. 191s.

Patented Jan. 13, 1920;

A INVENTOR. i 2n/7@ @BEA/NET? A TTORNE Y v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. EDWARD o. BENNETT, or OAKLAND, cALIFoItNIAAssIeNon or FIFTY PER CENT.To H EPBUBN anni., or sAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, AND HIeAeo, ILLINOIS,

KEY-LOCK.

Lia/28h74..v

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jan. 13 1920.

Application led April 17, 1918, Serial No. 229,192.

i To'aZZ-.whom tg/nay concern:

Beit knovifn ,that I, EDWARD O. BENNETT, a citizen of the' UnitedStates, and a resident i of the city of Oakland, county of Alameda,

State of California-have made a new and useful invention, to wit:Key-Locks; and I do hereby` declare the'following to be a f full, clear,concise, and exact description of the same.

The invention relates particularly to keyv locks having movable tumblerstherein engaging deviations in the key, and it relates also to a newform of key.

Among the objects of the invention are to roducea lock capable ofaninfinite numer of vtumbler combinations, simple in construction andoperation, strong in construe-I tion and proof against picking orfraudulent operation. Other objects 'and advantages will appear as thisdescription progresses.

In the accompanying specification and the annexed drawings, theinvention is Illustrated in the form considered to be the best, but itis to be understood that the invention is not limited to such form,because it may be embodied in other forms, and it is-also to beunderstood that in and by the claims following the description it isdesired to cover the invention in whatever form it may beembodied. Y v

The present embodiment of this invention illustrates its application tothe construction 'of cylinder or barrel type locks, the outstandingadvantage of which is the total elimination of'springs and gravityoperated parts, all of the parts operated by the key positively engagethe same, compelling the tumblers to positively arrange themselves inaccordance with the deviations in the key m s: i

'igure 1 is a front elevation of a lock constructed in accordance withthis invention looking into the keyhole of the lock.

Fi 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line H II Fig. 1 of thesame.

Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation of a lock as illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation looking into the keyhole of the tumblercylinder.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 6 is a cross section of the same taken on the line VI VI Fig. 2.

Flg. 7 is a disassociated View ofthe cylinder assembly.

Fig. 8 is an end view of the same.

Fig. 1s a detailed view in side elevation of a pa1r of opposed tumblers.

Flg. 10 i s a plan view of a key adapted to the operatlon of a lockconstructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 11 is an end view of the same, looking toward the entrance end ofthe key.

In detail the construction illustrated'v in the drawings includes, acylinder for con taining and guiding aplurality of tumblers and made upof a pair of semi-cylindrical segments 1 and 2 having the transversecuts 3 3 and 4 -4 therein, respectively forming the lugs 5 5 and 6 6arranged in offset relatlon, whereby the lugs 5 and 6 lit within thecuts 3 and 4 respectively when the Iends of the segments are flush. TheHush ends of the assembled segments 1 and 2 are diametrically reduced asat 7 and 8 toreceive the snugly fitting rings 9 and 10 respectively, tohold the segments l and 2 in assembly, see F 1g. 5. The cuts 3 4 areconveniently formed by arranging the segments l and 2 1n transversealinement, then passing the segments beneath a gang milling cutter whichforms cuts leaving the lugs 5 6 be' tween. For convenience in cutting Ipro'- vide the web portions 11 12 to provide grlps lfor the chuck jawslduring the milling operation. To hold the assembled segments 1 and2 inproper relation so that the periphery Ydescribes a true circle orcylinder, the shoulders 13 and 14 extend beyond the axial line of thecylinder and abut the .depressed shoulders 15 and 16 respectively whereby the extensions of the lugs 5 and 6 into the cuts 3 and 4 respectivelyleave the transverse rectangular spaces 17 and 18 above and below theaxial line of the cylinder, which act as guides for the parallel bodies19 and 20 of the opposed tumblers,

-which slide freely in"the guide spaces 17 and 18. These tumblers areeach provided with the integral lugs 21 and 22 respectively and arrangedin .opposed relation within the cylinder. The tumblers are alike inconstruction except vthat the end extensions on opposite sides of thelug are ofI various lengths for reasons which will hereafter appear. A

The dylinder is assembled by laying the tumblers 20' within the groove 4in the lower segment, see Fig. 2, then the tumblers 19 are insertedlinthe grooves 3 3 and the segments laid together as in' Fig. 5, and therings 9 and 10 slipped over the ends of the segments to hold them incylindrical alinement. Thus assembled the cylinder'is inserted withinthe casing or barrel.` The'casing 23 may be of any desirable exteriorcontour, cylindrical, as shown, or square, as the purpose for which thellock is constructed may require. The outer end of the casing is providedwith the internal shoulder 24: to engage the flange 25 on the ring 10.At the opposite end of the casing the follower ring 26 is inserted overthe ring 9 and fixed to the casing by the pins 27 extending therethroughto prevent longitudinal movement ofthe cylinder within-'the casing, butleaving it free to rotate therein. The sides o f the casing are providedwith the lon itudinal grooves 28-28 and 29-29, placev within the casingto aline with the ends of the tumblers 19 and 20 when the same are inthe locked relation. l

In the present instance the determination of the key combinationreverses the usual order of procedure, in that the key is made first.The key consists of a flat blank having parallelsides and of a thicknessslightly greater than the height of the tumbler lugs 21 and 22, and ofproper length to engage all of the tumbler lugs when inserted withinthekeyhole 30. The key combination is accomplished by routing out thegroove 31 in the plane of the key blank with an end mill cutter orotherwise in which operation no particular design need be followed,except that it is desirable to form frequent `deviations to form agroove of irregular contour. rThis groove is repeated on the oppositeside of the key as at 32, in the formation of which it is likewiseunnecessary to follow a set design as the two groovesY are notinterdependent. The keys thus formed are inserted in the keyhole 30, thegrooves 31 engaging the lugs 21 and the groove`32 engaging the lugs 22on their respective tumblers, disalining the lugs in accordance with thelateral deviations in their respective grooves, which causes the ends ofthe tumblers 19 and 20 to protrude beyond the perimeter of the cylinder.With the key in place, these protruding ends-are then iiled or turnedoif flush with the perimeter of the cylinder be# fore it is insertedwithin the casing 23, as

previously described, 'and within which the cylinder may' rotate freely'without engaging the casing. When the lock is installed, the casingbecomes a xe'd part of the .door

or door jamb or other part to be locked and is the immovable part of thelock, while the cylinder therein is the movable part. 'When e5 the keyis removed fromthe lock, thelugs 21 ti ying extensionv 3,0

and 22 on all the tumblers travel in thefdel viatin contour of'theirvrespective grooves 31 an 32 and are'thrown into different-poder andengage the longitudinal grooves 28--28 and 29e-29 respectively, whichlocks the cylinder against rotation within the casin 23. The key isprovided with an idenproperly. In the present instance there are 12tumblers, one end of each engaging a groove in the casing, resulting intwelvelocking points that must .be alined before the cylinder can berotated, a possibility so remote, without -the use of the key, that lthelock is practically unpickable, for the reason that the last tumbler issoreinote from the entrance of the keyhole that it could not be reachedwithout disturbing those ahead of it and the chance of moving all ofthem into correct position ser'z'atz'm is likewise a remote possibility,considering that the lateral movement of one end of the tumbler out ofonev of the grooves 28 or 29' enters 'it intol the similar groove on theopposite side of the casingunless the exact proper point is known. j

It is obvious that the number of tumblers within the same space may bemultiplied byl reducing their thickness, making it possible `toconstruct a lock of maximum vsafety in very compact form. With thenumber of digits shown the variation in combinations runs practicallyintoinfinity; unless it is desired to keep the permutations within toaid in inserting itil a master key; which is one of the possibilil tiesof this invention but not one of its essentials. f

The rotation of the cylinder within the casing is utilized inanydesirable manner, a.' simple form being shownin Fig. 3, in which,

a pin 33 is ixed in the end of the cylinder eccentric to the axisthereof and engages ai.

slot 34 in the bolt 35 which is guided within a rectangular frame 36,known in mechanics as a scotch yoke 4connection for transforming rotaryinto reciprocating motion, where-.` by the'rotation of the cylindermoving-the 'pin 33 to opposite'sides of the axis of the cylinder movesthe bolt 35 forward and backv to engage and disengage from a suitablekeeper or latch plate, to lock the door or other movable part to theframe with which' it coperates. A It is obvious that the rotation of thecylinder within the casing may be votherwise utilized without departingfrom the spirit of this inventioi'nv Likewise,

kother modifications. within the range ofmechanical knowledge willsuggest themselves to those skilled in this art in vapplying this of onesegment 4partially engaging in the 0pposed recesses of the oppositesegment to provide transverse tumbler guides in the cyllnder on oppositesides of the key-Way, tumblers slidable in the guides and having lugsextending into said key-Way, and a flat key; insertible in the key-Wayand having deviating grooves on oppositesides thereof adapted to engagethe lugs of the tumblers on opposite sides of the key-Way.

2..A lock including a casing; a cylinder revoluble in saidcasing andhaving a longitudinal keyhole; independently movable tumblerstransversely slidable on opposite sides of said keyhole. and having lugseX- tending into said keyhole; and a key to fill and fit the key-hole insaid cylinder and having deviating grooves in the sides to engage saidlugs.

3. A lock including a casing; a cylinder revoluble inCv said casingcomprising a pair of opposed segments having registering lugs andrecesses forming transverse tumbler Uuides; tumblers slidable in saidguides; and key means for moving said tumblers into and and out ofenga-gement with said casing.

4. A lock including a casing, a cylinder revoluble in said casing andhaving a longitudinal key hole and comprising a pair of opposed segmentshaving registering lugs and recesses forming transverse tumbler guides;tumblers slidable in said guides and having lugs extending into saidkeyhole; and a key having deviating grooves therein adapted to engagesaid lugs. i

5. A lock including a casing having internal grooves therein; a cylinderrevoluble in said casing and having a longitudinal keyhole locatedaxially therein; tumblers transversely slidable in said cylinder adaptedto engage said grooves and having lugs extending into said keyhole; anda key having deviating grooves therein adapted to lengage said lugs.

In testimony whereof I have hereuntoset my hand at San Francisco,California, this 13th day of April, 1918.

' EDWARD O. BENNETT.

' HARRY A. MUNROE,

LINCOLN V. JOHNSON.

